Murder At 1600

One reason I prefer this mystery thriller about murder in the White House to Absolute Power is that its politics are liberal rather than neocon, and there’s no gratuitous Hillary bashing. But hey, it’s also a better mystery and a better thriller toonothing that makes undue claims for itself, but entertaining and put together with craft and economy. Wesley Snipes (a D.C. homicide detective) and Diane Lane (a dissident Secret Service agent and former Olympic sharpshooter) team up to solve the mystery; others in the cast include Alan Alda, Daniel Benzali, Ronny Cox, and Dennis Miller. Dwight Little directed the script by Wayne Beach and David Hodgin. (JR) Read more

Grosse Pointe Blank

Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Minnie Driver, and Joan and John Cusack star in this 1997 comedy directed by George Armitage (Miami Blues), about a hit man who returns home for a high school reunion. The odd premise is promising, but despite some early indications from the two Cusacks and Arkin that it’s going to be funny, it winds up an unholy mess that becomes steadily more incoherentmorally, dramatically, and conceptually. Alas, not even an ace like Armitage can save it. Written by Tom Jankiewicz, D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, and John Cusack, who also coproduced; Barbara Harris appears in a cameo as the hero’s mother. 107 min. (JR) Read more